Daewoo Leganza

V100 Leganza SX

The front-wheel drive Leganza is notable for its design competence, good quality, high equipment levels and spacious interior – traits that were mostly missing from its rubbishy Espero predecessor.

The largest Daewoo’s main problem was a lack of oomph – its 98kW/185Nm 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine struggled to haul the large medium-sized sedan around, particularly when paired with a four-speed automatic instead of the standard five-speed manual gearbox.

Plus it faced stiff competition from the Toyota Camry and Avalon, Holden Vectra, Subaru Liberty and Mazda 626, as well as soft-roaders like the Honda CR-V and Toyota RAV4.

The South Korean brand also lacked the cache to lure buyers, despite superb styling courtesy of Italian coachbuilder Giugiaro.